Windows Newsreaders under Linux HOWTO

Updated to say that Xnews with a Windows 98SE configuration also works with Windows ME files. Thanks to Marty Hillman >mehillman@comcast.net< for discovering this.

Revision 2.21

2004-01-26

Revised by: dq

Updated with more clear language as to what exactly would go wrong with older versions of Wine under more recent Linux setups.

Revision 2.2

2004-01-24

Revised by: dq

Updated to say that Wine version 20031212 might be required for more modern Linux setups, but there will be more bugs. Updated each newsreader with its respective problems under 20031212, including the fact that Dialog will not work with Wine versions greater than 20030813.

Revision 2.11

2003-12-24

Revised by: dq

Updated to say that Xnews event sounds work properly, and updated with instructions to get event sounds to work properly under KDE.

Revision 2.1

2003-12-12

Revised by: dq

Updated to cover Forte Free Agent as well as Xnews and Dialog. Added a Dialog problem.

Revision 2.02

2003-12-11

Revised by: dq

Updated "Window sizing problems" in Xnews and added another Xnews problem. TODO updated with what the document will not cover.

Revision 2.01

2003-10-24

Revised by: dq

Updated with another Xnews problem and another Dialog
problem. TODO now contains other newsreaders this document will cover.
Update "Erasing sections of text" Xnews problem to say that the text
is deleted but requires the Rewrap button to be pressed to fix it, as well as
that it affects KDE also. Updated to say that Wine 20030813 is required,
since later versions seem to cause problems.

Revision 2.0

2003-09-16

Revised by: dq

Updated with new name
"Windows-Newsreaders-under-Linux-HOWTO," since the document now
discusses configuration and use of 40tude Dialog as well. Windows XP
instructions updated for Xnews. Problems and Issues for Xnews updated.
Acknowledgements updated. Xnews copying instructions updated for clarity.
Xnews copying section renamed. Prerequisites updated to say that the standard
unzip program might be necessary.

Revision 1.1

2003-09-07

Revised by: dq

Updated with more Problems and Issues, including binary usage.
Updated with more DLL files to copy and configure (when using a Windows 98SE
configuration) for better results. Updated to say that a Windows 98SE
configuration is preferred, since there are some problems with Windows XP
"emulation."

Revision 1.0

2003-09-01

Revised by: dq

initial LDP release, some updates

Revision 0.12

2003-08-31

Revised by: dq

conversion to XML (thanks to Greg Ferguson), various
updates

Revision 0.11

2003-08-22

Revised by: dq

various updates

This document describes how to set up and use several different Windows Usenet
newsreaders under the Linux operating system using the Wine
"emulator." This document was formerly known as the Xnews under
Linux HOWTO.

1. Introduction

One of the problems with Linux today is the lack of variety and choice in
newsreader software, where Windows has several newsreader programs with better
features and better stability. Under Windows, three of the most popular
newsreaders are Xnews, Dialog, and Free Agent.

Xnews, created by Luu Tran, is a freeware newsreader for Windows,
available from the website
http://xnews.newsguy.com. Here
is a list of Xnews' features listed on the website:

100% GNKSA 2.0 (Good Net Keeping Seal of Approval) compliant.

Plonk file (aka bozo bin).

Quick filter (type in a regex and only articles whose
subject/author match it will be shown).

Unfortunately, Luu Tran has decided neither to make his newsreader
open-source nor to release a Linux version. However, there is a way to get
Xnews to work under Linux, although it takes a bit of work.

Dialog is a newsreader by 40tude. It is available at
http://www.40tude.com/dialog/.
According to the website, "it supports multiple servers and identities, has
filtering/scoring support, integrated email functionality and binary support
including support for multiparts." The newsreader is "shareware for
commercial users and freeware for private users." It works excellently
under Linux.

Free Agent is the feature-slimmed freeware version of Forte's commercial
e-mail and Usenet client Agent. It is available at
http://www.forteinc.com/agent/.
According to the Features section of the website, the program has basic
newsreader functions, message threading, multi-part binaries, translations,
internal multi-tasking, and URL detection. It also has partial support for
offline data storage, group properties, UI configuration, searching, and
sorting. It runs with few problems under Linux after almost no extra
configuration, except under Wine versions later than 20030813.

1.1. Prerequisites

This HOWTO assumes that:

The InfoZIP utilities are installed on the Linux machine. These are available
at InfoZIP's web site.
The unzip program is required if the reader wants to install Xnews or Dialog
without copying from an existing installation. This is a standard part
of most Linux distributions, but may not be automatically installed.

The Wine "emulator" is installed properly on the Linux machine. To
download Wine, visit
http://www.winehq.com.
The version used at the
time of this writing was 20031212.
UPDATE (version 2.01): Wine versions later than 20030813 will not work.
UPDATE (version 2.2): Wine version 20031212 may be required under more modern
Linux setups. There are more problems with this version, and Dialog will not
work, but older Wine versions will not "emulate" properly without it
and will cause a crash upon trying to access NNTP servers. Try 20030813 first,
and then try version 20031212 if you have problems.

The reader of this document has access to a Windows machine. Certain files are
needed from the Windows operating system. Access to Windows 98SE is preferred.
This HOWTO covers Windows 98SE and Windows XP. Windows ME files will also work
when running Xnews if a Windows 98SE configuration is used.

Xnews stable version 5.04.25 is used (the beta version was not
tested at the time of this writing). The website for Xnews is
http://xnews.newsguy.com/

Dialog version 2.0 Beta 28 is used. The website for Dialog is
http://www.40tude.com/dialog/
Note that Wine versions greater than 20030813 will not work with Dialog.

1.2. Copyright and License

This document, Windows Newsreaders under Linux HOWTO,
is copyrighted (C) 2003 by Daniel Quintiliani.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
License, Version 1.2 or any later version published
by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections,
with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts.
A copy of the license is available at
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

1.3. Disclaimer

No liability for the contents of this document can be accepted.
Use the concepts, examples and information at your own risk.
There may be errors and inaccuracies that could be damaging to
your system, although any damage is highly unlikely. Proceed with
caution; the author(s) do not take any responsibility.

All copyrights are held by their by their respective owners,
unless specifically noted otherwise. Use of a term in this
document should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any
trademark or service mark. Naming of particular products or
brands should not be seen as endorsements.

1.4. TODO for this document

This document may eventually contain:

This document may be expanded to cover other Windows newsreaders
such as MicroPlanet Gravity.

This document will not cover the following newsreaders: XanaNews (I cannot
get this to work) and newsreaders included in web browsers (Outlook Express,
Netscape/Mozilla Mail and News, etc)

2. Xnews

2.1. Setting up Xnews

2.1.1. Configuring Wine for Xnews

Wine is capable of "emulating" many different versions of Windows.
Wine is not perfect, however; it runs slower than a normal Windows installation
and it is not a stable product. Certain problems occur when running Xnews;
these are discussed in the
"Problems and Issues" section of
the document.

Before Xnews can run under Linux, certain files from a Windows installation
need to be copied to the Xnews root directory. Depending on which version of
Windows you have access to, there will be different files to copy and different
instructions for configuring Wine. This document currently covers a Windows
98SE/Windows ME and a Windows XP configuration. A Windows 98SE/Windows ME
configuration is preferred, since there are some more problems with a Windows
XP configuration. Below are the instructions describing how to configure Wine
for Xnews.

2.1.1.1. Windows 98SE / Windows ME

If you have access to a Windows 98SE or Windows ME machine, you must set up
the Wine configuration file (found at $HOME/.wine/config)
according to these instructions.

First, find the section "[Version]" in the
.wine/config file, and make sure that
"win98" is the version Wine will imitate:

2.1.2. Copying and/or Extracting Required Files

Several DLL files must first be copied to the root Xnews directory from
an existing Windows installation.

If Xnews lies on a Windows partition on the same machine, you must copy the DLL
files to the Xnews root directory. Xnews will be run from this directory
on the Windows partition.

If Xnews is being run on a Linux-only machine, you must download Xnews to
your fake C drive (usually $HOME/c) and extract it
into a directory there. Open up a terminal window, navigate to your fake C
drive, and type the following commands:

mkdir Xnews
mv xnews.zip Xnews
cd Xnews
unzip xnews.zip

Alternatively, you may copy an existing Xnews folder to your fake C drive. The
root Xnews directory must include the DLL files mentioned in the following
subsections.

2.1.2.1. Windows 98SE

If you have access to a Windows 98SE machine, copy the files
commctrl.dll, comctl32.dll,
riched32.dll, comdlg32.dll,
shell.dll, and shell32.dll
(usually in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM) to the root Xnews directory.

2.1.2.2. Windows XP

If you have access to a Windows XP machine, copy the files
comctl32.dll, riched20.dll,
and riched32.dll (usually in
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32) to the root Xnews directory.

2.2. Running Xnews

Using a terminal window, navigate to the root Xnews directory and type:

wine Xnews.exe

Use Xnews normally, noting the exceptions in the next section, entitled
"Problems and Issues"
Note that these are problems with Wine's "emulation," not
Xnews.

2.3. Problems and Issues

2.3.1. Fixed-width fonts and alt.ascii-art

ASCII art requires fixed-width fonts to view. Clicking the fixed font button
above the message headers will simply lock the message so that the vertical
scrollbar will not work.

The easiest way to deal with this is to go into
"Special -> Setup Xnews -> Fonts and Colors"
and select a fixed font for all types
of text. The default "Fixed" will not work;
use "Misc Fixed", size 12.

2.3.2. Erasing sections of text

Selecting sections of text with the mouse and pressing Backspace or Delete
will delete the text from the screen, but for some reason it might still look
like it's there when the message is sent or posted.

To solve this problem, press the "Rewrap" button below the message headers.

2.3.3. Window sizing problems

There are several problems relating to the sizing of the windows. When the
CatchUp button is clicked, the main groups list window shrinks and must be
maximized. These are mostly minor annoyances, except...

2.3.3.1. Closing Xnews

Depending on the window manager (Sawfish has problems with this), it may be
impossible to close the Xnews window, and there is no "Exit" option
in the main menu. To get around this, make sure that the window is sized so
that the terminal used to launch Xnews is accessible, and close that
terminal. Do not press
Ctrl-C,
etc as this will cause problems. Be
sure to click the Save button to save the newsrc first.

2.3.4. Binary newsgroups

The posting of binaries to newsgroups does not currently work. An attempted
post will lock at 1% completion and give an error message when the post is
aborted, posting only the text portion of the message. However, the combining
and decoding of binaries works with no problems at all.

2.3.5. Text on some tabs are indented

If Windows XP is "emulated," certain tabs will have text indented,
leaving some of it out of visibility. The solution is to use Windows 98SE files
instead of XP files. It isn't that important. UPDATED: Version 2.0 of this
document includes new instructions which solve this problem when Windows XP
files are used.

2.3.6. No sample text in font selection dialog

If Windows XP is "emulated," the font selection dialog will not show
sample text. According to a
Wine
mailing list message, there are certain un-"emulated"
functions in Windows XP "emulation." Version 1.1 of this document was
updated with new files to copy and configure when using Windows 98SE
"emulation" in order to solve this problem. Until the Wine developers
implement these Windows XP functions, use a Windows 98SE configuration to get
around this issue. If a Windows 98SE computer is not available, just apply
changes and look at the main window.

2.3.7. Web links can not be executed

Web links can not be executed from within the Xnews message window. This is
pretty obvious as there is no integrated Web browser in Wine. However, Wine's
clipboard works with no problem. Select the link and copy and paste into an open
web browser window.

2.3.7.1. Web link doesn't always copy

When you try and copy a Web link to the clipboard, it may not copy. This
occurs when the link as a whole is copied rather than selected text. The
solution to this is to make sure that as you are selecting the text, the rest
of the link is not automatically selected. If this continues, select the blank
space before the link and copy with the preceding blank space.

2.3.8. Sound does not work

Event sounds in Xnews do not currently work. Updated instructions for this may
be included in future versions of this document.

UPDATED (version 2.11): Event sounds work properly. If you run KDE, you first
need to turn off the aRts soundserver by going into Settings -> Control
Center -> Sounds & Multimedia -> Sound System and unchecking
"Start aRts soundserver on KDE Startup" (instructions were tested on
version 3.1.3; may be different for other versions). Note that this will
disable event sounds for KDE applications which depend on the aRts soundserver.
Xnews sounds work properly under the Gnome sound server.

2.3.9. "Compose" message body does not automatically wrap

In some cases, the message body of a Compose window does not automatically
wrap. Simply clicking "Rewrap Text" as this happens will fix the
problem.

2.3.10. XFaces are not visible

When a Wine version greater than 20030813 is being used, the XFace is not
visible when a message is being composed or read, and the box where the XFace
would be is colored black. Ignore this, since the correct XFace is being posted
anyway. Try to use Wine version 20030813 if you can.

3. Dialog

3.1. Setting up Dialog

3.1.1. Configuring Wine for Dialog

Wine is capable of "emulating" many different versions of Windows.
Wine is not perfect, however; it runs slower than a normal Windows installation
and it is not a stable product. Certain problems occur when running Dialog;
these are discussed in the
"Problems and Issues" section of
the document. Note that Wine versions greater than 20030813 will not
"emulate" Dialog properly.

Before Dialog or its installer can run under Linux, certain files from a
Windows installation need to be copied to the directory containing Dialog's
installer, and after installation, Dialog's root directory. Depending
on which version of Windows the reader of this document has access to, there
will be different files to copy and different instructions for configuring
Wine. This document currently covers a Windows 98SE and a Windows XP
configuration. Below are the instructions describing how to configure Wine for
Dialog.

3.1.1.1. Windows 98SE

If you have access to a Windows 98SE machine, the Wine configuration file
(found at $HOME/.wine/config) must be set up
according to these instructions.

First, find the section "[Version]" in the
.wine/config file, and make sure that
"win98" is the version Wine will imitate:

3.1.2. Copying and/or Installing Required Files

Several DLL files must first be copied to the root Dialog directory from
an existing Windows installation.

If Dialog lies on a Windows partition on the same machine, you must copy the DLL
files to the Dialog root directory. Dialog will be run from this directory
on the Windows partition.

If Dialog is being run on a Linux-only machine, you must download Dialog to
your fake C drive (usually $HOME/c). You must then use
the supplied installer according to the instructions in the subsection below
entitled "Using the Installer."
Alternatively, you may copy an existing Dialog folder to your fake
C drive. The root Dialog directory must include the DLL files mentioned in the
following subsections.

3.1.2.1. Using the Installer

To extract the archive which contains the Dialog installer, open up a terminal
window, navigate to your fake C drive (where Dialog was downloaded to) and type:

unzip 40td2b28.zip

The name of the file may be different depending on the version of Dialog
downloaded.

In order for the installer to work correctly, certain DLL files from Windows
need to be copied to the directory where the installer is located. If you
have access to a Windows 98SE machine, copy the file
riched32.dll to your fake C drive. If you have access to
a Windows XP machine, copy the files riched20.dll and
riched32.dll to your fake C drive.

Finally, to install Dialog, open up a terminal window, navigate to your fake
C drive, and type:

wine SETUP.EXE

Installation of Dialog should work fine from here. Be sure to copy the DLL
files mentioned in the rest of this section to your Dialog root directory
before running the program.

3.1.2.2. Copying required files - Windows 98SE

If you have access to a Windows 98SE machine, copy the files
commctrl.dll, comctl32.dll,
and riched32.dll (usually in
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\) to your root Dialog directory.

3.1.2.3. Copying required files - Windows XP

If you have access to a Windows XP machine, copy the files
comctl32.dll, riched20.dll,
and riched32.dll (usually in
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ to your root Dialog directory.

3.2. Running Dialog

Using a terminal window, navigate to the root Dialog directory and type:

wine dialog.exe

Use Dialog normally, noting the exceptions in the next section, entitled
"Problems and Issues"
Note that these are problems with Wine's "emulation," not
Dialog.

3.3. Problems and Issues

3.3.1. Dragging the vertical scrollbar's placeholder doesn't work

Dragging the vertical scrollbar's placeholder within the message list will
cause it to bounce back to its original position. To get around this, hold
down the mouse at the down arrow of the scrollbar, or use your mouse's wheel
if it has one.

3.3.2. Strange error message about fontinfo.dat

You may occasionally get an error message about the file
fontinfo.dat needing
to be rebuilt. Ignore this, as it doesn't seem to affect the program in any
way.

3.3.3. Window sizing problems

Depending on the window manager used, the window may need to be re-maximized
after switching to another window. Other sizing problems might be present
as well.

3.3.4. Fixed-width fonts and alt.ascii-art

To change the font, go into Settings - General Settings -
Fonts/Colors. Change the "Bodies (monospaced)" font to "Misc
Fixed."

4. Free Agent

4.1. Setting up Free Agent

4.1.1. Configuring Wine for Free Agent

Wine is capable of "emulating" many different versions of Windows.
Wine is not perfect, however; it runs slower than a normal Windows installation
and it is not a stable product. Certain problems occur when running Free Agent;
these are discussed in the
"Problems and Issues" section of
the document.

Before Free Agent can be run under Linux, a certain file from a Windows
installation need to be copied to Free Agent's root directory. The
instructions are similar for both Windows 98SE and Windows XP configurations.
Below are the instructions describing how to configure Wine for Free Agent.

First, find the section "[Version]" in the
.wine/config file, and make sure that
"win98" is the version Wine will imitate:

4.1.2. Copying and/or Installing Required Files

Several DLL files must first be copied to the root Free Agent directory from
an existing Windows installation.

If Free Agent lies on a Windows partition on the same machine, you must copy
the DLL files to the Free Agent root directory. Free Agent will be run from
this directory on the Windows partition.

If Free Agent is being run on a Linux-only machine, you must download Free
Agent to your fake C drive (usually $HOME/c). You must
then use the supplied installer according to the instructions in the
subsection below entitled
"Using the Installer."
Alternatively, you may copy an existing Free Agent folder to your fake
C drive. The root Free Agent directory must include the DLL files mentioned in
the following subsections.

4.1.2.1. Using the Installer

To install Free Agent, simply download the installer to your fake C drive,
open up a terminal window, navigate to your fake C drive, and type:

wine installer.exe

(where installer is the name of the installer). Installation
should work fine from here. Be sure to copy the DLL files mentioned in the rest
of this section to your Free Agent root directory before running the program.

4.1.2.2. Copying required files

The Windows DLL file comdlg32.dll needs to be copied to
the Free Agent root directory. Under Windows 98SE, the file is usually located
in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\. Under Windows XP, the file is
usually located in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\.

4.2. Running Free Agent

Using a terminal window, navigate to the root Free Agent directory and type:

wine agent.exe

Use Free Agent normally, noting the exceptions in the next section, entitled
"Problems and Issues"
Note that these are problems with Wine's "emulation," not
Free Agent.

Also, thanks go out to the people in news.software.readers for working with
me on this HOWTO, and to Usenet users everywhere for keeping the protocol
alive in the midst of ad-filled, license-binding, scattered Web forums.